This three-year project will develop, field-test, and conduct experimental research to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new transition-oriented self-determination instructional program entitled: Student-Directed Transition Planning . Our partners include culturally and linguistically diverse families and students (CLD) with IEPs from rural, urban, public, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and tribal schools in Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico and Oklahoma and the professionals that provide them educational services.

Current population estimates indicate CLD students will comprise over half the general education population by the year 2040 or earlier in some states. High dropout rates and unemployment, and low enrollment in postsecondary education signify the importance of developing improved transition practices for CLD secondary students with high incidence disabilities. A scarcity of culturally appropriate transition lesson materials makes improving the current situation difficult. Differences between individualist and collectivist cultures often serve as barriers for CLD students to complete high school and make a successful transition into postsecondary education and employment. Little research exists describing the secondary transition process for CLD students and their families.

The Student-Directed Transition Planning will revise, expand, and replace the existing Self-Directed IEP lesson package, which was developed and published before the 1997 IDEA transition requirements, does not address the current transition requirements.